The Persian Wars, Annotated Bibliography Example

Cartledge, Paul. “The Persian Wars: 490-479 BC.” The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 2004. 111-40. Print.

Cartledge’s first book, The Spartans, highlights the culture of Ancient Sparta, but also has a very large section of the book that emphasizes the events surrounding Thermopylae.  This will help me draw specific details from the events of the time as well as include information of the culture.  Although this presentation and report will not be about the Spartan culture, it is important to understand the cultural beliefs and philosophies of the Spartans in order to understand why they decided to enter battle with a presumably unbeatable foe.  This source is crucial to understanding the events of the battle and the impact that it had on the eventual greater defeat Persia received at Salamis.

Cartledge, Paul. Thermopylae: The Battle that Changed the World. New York, NY: The Overlook, 2006. Print.

Cartledge is well-known as an expert on Spartan culture in Ancient Greece and the battle of Thermopylae.  This book creates a timeline of the historical events within the battle and highlights the Spartan culture, the military actions, and the societal and cultural impact that the battle had for Ancient Greece and historically throughout the world.  I particularly like this resource because of the detailed timeline that is provided as well as the maps that show military movement and help understand the philosophy behind why the Spartans chose Thermopylae for the battle site, and the benefits they received by doing so.

Dupre, Ben and Robin Waterfield. “Leonidas” and “Themistocles.” The Art of War: Great Commanders of the Ancient and Medieval World 1500 BC – AD 1600. Ed. Andrew Roberts. Vol. 1. London, Great Britain: Quercus, 2008. 76-91. Print.

One of the chapters within this compilation includes a detailed description of King Leoonidas and Themistocles of the Spartans.  This details these two leaders’ coming to power, military decisions and cultural importance within the society.  Leonidas controlled the overall actions of the entire army, while Themistocles controlled the battle at sea.  It briefly outlines their lives and the impact of their decisions culminating with the battle of Thermopylae, which led to Leonidas’ ultimate demise.  This source is being used to help draw a comparison between the leaders of the Spartans and the Persians, Kking Xerxes while also describing the importance of the battle and the military decisions Leonidas and Themistocles made that impacted the outcome of the battle.

Hall, Jonathan M. A History of the Archaic Greek World: ca. 1200-479 BCE. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007. Print

This source includes an outline of the entire world of Ancient Greece, but specifically includes details on the society of Sparta, the politics of the government, and the historical importance of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 AD.  Specifically, Hall mentions that Adolf Hitler envied the actions of the Spartans and their supreme military presence and philosophies for training.  This source will help me finalize the suggestive political and cultural causes of the battle, and help analyze the details of the battle.  Finally, it also includes additional information for the importance of the battle historically around the rest of the world.

The Last Stand of the 300. Dir. David Padrusch. By Matt Koed. Limulus Productions and History Channel, 2007. DVD.

This documentary interviews multiple scholars and authors on the battle of Thermopylae.  It discusses the events leading up to the conflict, the Spartan culture, the military training and military strategy, the naval conflict that is seldom heard about, and details the weapons and tools used within the battle.  This source is an excellent reference tool to discuss all of these areas and how they had a major impact on the final outcome of the battle and the historical relevancy of Thermopylae to the rest of the world.  Many of the maps and weapons will be used in the final presentation and report to help add further detail to this event.

Vivante, Bella. “The Persian Wars.” Events that Changed Ancient Greece. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2002. 79-95. Print.

This source has extensive information that details the Spartan society and its military training.  After describing the politics and social culture of the Spartans and their conflicts with the Athenians, the author discusses the battle of Thermopylae with the Persians.  The information on the battle is very general and not as detailed as other sources.  However, the information that I will use from this source provides a great insight on the culture and sociological environment that existed within Sparta, which will help draw conclusions on the behaviors and actions taken by the Spartans during this battle.

Waters, Kenneth H. “Xerxes.” Herodotus on Tyrants and Despots: A Study in Objectivity. Wiesbaden, Germany: Franz Steiner, 1971. 65-85. Print.

Waters provides a detailed description of four of the kings of ancient Persia, and concludes with a section on Xerxes.  Throughout my presentation and report, I will include information on both Leonidas of the Spartans and Xerxes of the Persians as military and cultural leaders.  This source attempts to analyze Xerxes’ impact on Persia and the challenges he faced while trying to expand the empire, including very brief information on Thermopylae.  The goal of using this source is to draw a brief comparison between the two cultures’ leaders and keep an unbiased view of the battle by eliminating the view of Persia as the “bad guy” in this conflict.